Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

[Napoleon]

I'm flying to Atlanta in a few weeks and will try the UPE (upx?). The test is with a Presto Card and taxis from/to Union to Cabbagetown am I saying much time or money vs. airport limo? My neighbour uses Uber X to get to the airport and it costs him, IIRC, about $40.

With one person, I imagine it's competitive with UberX. I just sent my parents to the airport last week with UberX and it was $32 to Pearson. The TTC only is $6 for two people. For them to take the UPX, I would have had to have them connect at Dundas. So, it's the $3 TTC fare plus the one way UPX far of $15.20 from Bloor to Pearson. Toss in $6 per person for a Presto card (that's about the same as the Presto discount), and per person it would have been $24.20 or $48.40 for both of them. Pretty obvious choice there for cost. Flat rate for the airport taxi service is $42 from here, so also cheaper than the train.

 

[nfitz]

Not sure including the one-time cost of purchasing a Presto card is fair. Might as well add in the cost to buy the Smartphone to use Uber!

Seem to be ignoring the tip for Taxis. I assume one tips Uber? Never used it.

 

[crs1026]

Reportedly, Uber is under pressure to add the functionality to add a tip to payment within their app. I don't know whether many riders tender a cash tip at the moment.

- Paul

 

[TOareaFan]

Not sure including the one-time cost of purchasing a Presto card is fair. Might as well add in the cost to buy the Smartphone to use Uber!

get what you are saying but the smartphone has so many other uses and people have them anyway.

 

[Palma]

Reportedly, Uber is under pressure to add the functionality to add a tip to payment within their app. I don't know whether many riders tender a cash tip at the moment.

- Paul

I thought one of the reasons for the popularity of Uber is, its cheaper for the customer and other than a small fee Uber gets, the rest of the money stays with the driver. Now these drivers want a tip to be added? I get on the TTC, pay a fee and get off. I don;t tip so I do not understand how its any different when riding a taxi, especially with Uber since the drivers get most of the fare unlike the people who drive taxis. But even with taxis I do not understand tipping when you have just paid to get to an address.

 

[nfitz]

get what you are saying but the smartphone has so many other uses and people have them anyway.

Ditto for Prestocard for anyone living in GTA.

Never crossed my mind that someone wouldn't tip a tax - wow, no wonder taxi drivers are reluctant to take short trips.

 

[TOareaFan]

Ditto for Prestocard for anyone living in GTA.

well a presto card can be used for transit or, well, transit...yes different kinds of it...but a smartphone can be used for transit in the case of uber or a myriad of non-transit purposes....not seeing them as being directly comparable.

Never crossed my mind that someone wouldn't tip a tax - wow, no wonder taxi drivers are reluctant to take short trips.

I think most taxi drivers get tipped for most trips.

 

[crs1026]

Never crossed my mind that someone wouldn't tip a tax - wow, no wonder taxi drivers are reluctant to take short trips.

Uber is international, and tipping norms vary widely across its different constituencies. I believe that the "fixed price" was based in part on the premise that taxi drivers (and/or meters) couldn't always be trusted, so the app prescribed the price for the trip.

We are at the upper end of the scale for tipping in North America, and I'd argue that our practice is actually not desirable as it simply encourages employers to cut back wages, which in turn makes the tip "mandatory" instead of being discretionary based on the service obtained.

But to get back on topic - I wouldn't assume a tip in pricing Uber.

- Paul

 

[kotsy]

especially with Uber since the drivers get most of the fare unlike the people who drive taxis4

Ya, but the fare is less than half of a regular taxi fare so you must take that into account. However, there are times when the uber fares are inflated based on demand. I certainly wouldn't tip in these instances but then again I don't like tipping period.

I can appreciate giving extra if people go above and beyond but tipping automatically like in restaurants drives me mad. 80-90% of the time they do a good job but you're an asshole if you don't tip out for that. Servers make less than regular wage because of tips so again, the pressure is on to tip. Especially since in some restaurants the server has to give a certain percentage of each bill to the kitchen staff, regardless of whether or not they've been tipped by the customer. It seems tipping is becoming more and more common too. You go into a fast food pizza joint and the credit/debit machine asks you if you want to tip for that slice you just bought or there's a tip jar next to the cash register at a food truck

Perhaps I've just watched Reservoir Dogs too many times. Maybe it's time I move to Europe where tipping is considered rude and condescending.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Did they pencil in a route for a Union Pickering Airport Express yet?

 

[Palma]

Ditto for Prestocard for anyone living in GTA.

Never crossed my mind that someone wouldn't tip a tax - wow, no wonder taxi drivers are reluctant to take short trips.

I have always given a tip to a taxi driver but more like I feel like i have to. Why not tip a bus driver? Or pilot or whoever runs the train. Tipping is a North American thing

 

[hawc]

My wife and I just had the opportunity to use the UP Express this weekend and didn't.

We live at Gerrard and River.

On the way to Pearson we took Uber to Castlefrank. And the TTC the rest of the way. Total cost $9.50 for cab + $6 for two cash fares for TTC = $15.50 total for us.

On the way back from Pearson we were lazy and took an airport limo. $60 flat fate + $5 tip = $65 total for us.

If we had taken the UP Express it would have been $27 each + $20 for cab from Union station for a grand total of $74.

It just doesn't make any sense for the overwhelming majority of Torontonians. I won't even consider it until the price falls below $20.

 

[goreckm]

My wife and I just had the opportunity to use the UP Express this weekend and didn't.

We live at Gerrard and River.

On the way to Pearson we took Uber to Castlefrank. And the TTC the rest of the way. Total cost $9.50 for cab + $6 for two cash fares for TTC = $15.50 total for us.

On the way back from Pearson we were lazy and took an airport limo. $60 flat fate + $5 tip = $65 total for us.

If we had taken the UP Express it would have been $27 each + $20 for cab from Union station for a grand total of $74.

It just doesn't make any sense for the overwhelming majority of Torontonians. I won't even consider it until the price falls below $20.

It is below $20. It's 19. If you live in the city, you should have a Presto card, as you'll need it sooner or later.

 

[wopchop]

On the way back from Pearson we were lazy and took an airport limo. $60 flat fate + $5 tip = $65 total for us.

If we had taken the UP Express it would have been $19 each + $20 for cab from Union station for a grand total of $58.

It just doesn't make any sense for the overwhelming majority of Torontonians. I won't even consider it until the price falls below $20.

Fixed that for you.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Depends on time of day really. And where your taxi drops you at Union. Reading the timings on the comparison in the Toronto Star, I can only think that the taxi dropped the person at the corner of Bay and Front or something, instead of Station Street between York and Simcoe.

My flight to Atlanta is mid-week at 8:45am, meaning I would normally drive my own car or taxi from my house at around 6:45am. Flight back is on a Saturday, arriving at Pearson at 9:40pm. I could see convenience savings on the weekday morning trip, but less on the Saturday night. Regardless, I'm a big train fan so will likely give it a shot.

Now if I could only get my commute to New Hamburg on VIA to work, but as they say on the Riverbank, that's another story.... http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/best-commute-toronto-to-kitchener.21847/